2,543 research outputs found
Non-Perturbative Models For The Quantum Gravitational Back-Reaction On Inflation
We consider a universe in which inflation commences because of a positive
cosmological constant, the effect of which is progressively screened by the
interaction between virtual gravitons that become trapped in the expansion of
spacetime. Perturbative calculations have shown that screening becomes
non-perturbatively large at late times. In this paper we consider effective
field equations which can be evolved numerically to provide a non-perturbative
description of the process. The induced stress tensor is that of an effective
scalar field which is a non-local functional of the metric. We use the known
perturbative result, constrained by general principles and guided by a physical
description of the screening mechanism, to formulate a class of ansatze for
this functional. A scheme is given for numerically evolving the field equations
which result from a simple ansatz, from the beginning of inflation past the
time when it ends. We find that inflation comes to a sudden end, producing a
system whose equation of state rapidly approaches that of radiation. Explicit
numerical results are presented.Comment: 50 pages, LaTeX 2 epsilon, 11 Postscript files, uses psfig.st
Relational Reality in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
Up to now it has been impossible to find a realistic interpretation for the
reduction process in relativistic quantum mechanics. The basic problem is the
dependence of the states on the frame within which collapse takes place. A
suitable use of the causal structure of the devices involved in the measurement
process allows us to introduce a covariant notion for the collapse of quantum
states.Comment: 4 pages, final version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
Schrieffer-Wolff transformation for quantum many-body systems
The Schrieffer-Wolff (SW) method is a version of degenerate perturbation
theory in which the low-energy effective Hamiltonian H_{eff} is obtained from
the exact Hamiltonian by a unitary transformation decoupling the low-energy and
high-energy subspaces. We give a self-contained summary of the SW method with a
focus on rigorous results. We begin with an exact definition of the SW
transformation in terms of the so-called direct rotation between linear
subspaces. From this we obtain elementary proofs of several important
properties of H_{eff} such as the linked cluster theorem. We then study the
perturbative version of the SW transformation obtained from a Taylor series
representation of the direct rotation. Our perturbative approach provides a
systematic diagram technique for computing high-order corrections to H_{eff}.
We then specialize the SW method to quantum spin lattices with short-range
interactions. We establish unitary equivalence between effective low-energy
Hamiltonians obtained using two different versions of the SW method studied in
the literature. Finally, we derive an upper bound on the precision up to which
the ground state energy of the n-th order effective Hamiltonian approximates
the exact ground state energy.Comment: 47 pages, 3 figure
An anthology of non-local QFT and QFT on noncommutative spacetime
Ever since the appearance of renormalization theory there have been several
differently motivated attempts at non-localized (in the sense of not generated
by point-like fields) relativistic particle theories, the most recent one being
at QFT on non-commutative Minkowski spacetime. The often conceptually
uncritical and historically forgetful contemporary approach to these problems
calls for a critical review the light of previous results on this subject.Comment: 33 pages tci-latex, improvements of formulations, shortening of
sentences, addition of some reference
Cardiac auscultation training of medical students: a comparison of electronic sensor-based and acoustic stethoscopes
BACKGROUND: To determine whether the use of an electronic, sensor based stethoscope affects the cardiac auscultation skills of undergraduate medical students. METHODS: Forty eight third year medical students were randomized to use either an electronic stethoscope, or a conventional acoustic stethoscope during clinical auscultation training. After a training period of four months, cardiac auscultation skills were evaluated using four patients with different cardiac murmurs. Two experienced cardiologists determined correct answers. The students completed a questionnaire for each patient. The thirteen questions were weighted according to their relative importance, and a correct answer was credited from one to six points. RESULTS: No difference in mean score was found between the two groups (p = 0.65). Grading and characterisation of murmurs and, if present, report of non existing murmurs were also rated. None of these yielded any significant differences between the groups. CONCLUSION: Whether an electronic or a conventional stethoscope was used during training and testing did not affect the students' performance on a cardiac auscultation test
Effective spin model for interband transport in a Wannier-Stark lattice system
We show that the interband dynamics in a tilted two-band Bose-Hubbard model
can be reduced to an analytically accessible spin model in the case of resonant
interband oscillations. This allows us to predict the revival time of these
oscillations which decay and revive due to inter-particle interactions. The
presented mapping onto the spin model and the so achieved reduction of
complexity has interesting perspectives for future studies of many-body
systems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Geometrization of Quantum Mechanics
We show that it is possible to represent various descriptions of Quantum
Mechanics in geometrical terms. In particular we start with the space of
observables and use the momentum map associated with the unitary group to
provide an unified geometrical description for the different pictures of
Quantum Mechanics. This construction provides an alternative to the usual GNS
construction for pure states.Comment: 16 pages. To appear in Theor. Math. Phys. Some typos corrected.
Definition 2 in page 5 rewritte
The Quantum Gravitationally Induced Stress Tensor
We derive non-perturbative relations between the expectation value of the
invariant element in a homogeneous and isotropic state and the quantum
gravitationally induced pressure and energy density. By exploiting previously
obtained bounds for the maximum possible growth of perturbative corrections to
a locally de Sitter background we show that the two loop result dominates all
higher orders. We also show that the quantum gravitational slowing of inflation
becomes non-perturbatively strong earlier than previously expected.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX 2 epsilo
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